Sports
Tokyo Olympics 2020: Nigeria’s Best in 13 Years
Nigeria at the Olympics: Now and in the Past
Nigeria has competed in the Olympics since 1952, but Africa’s most populous country has only a total of 25 medals to show for its efforts.
Three gold medals, ten silver, and twelve bronze medals make up the total. Read on as we run you through some of the country’s 16 Olympics performances, in which 722 competitors were the proud recipients of these awards.
Having all of the facts before you bet allows you to make an informed decision. Informed decisions give you all the ingredients for a better wager. So, when you bet with MGM, you can rest assured that they will offer you all relevant information before placing your bets.
Based on their previous performances, you’ll be able to rate the countries competing in the future Olympics. Let’s take a look at Nigeria and its Olympic history.
2020 Olympics
The Minister of Youth and Sports said that Team Nigeria’s performance in the recent Games was the “best in the last 13 years.” Minister Sunday Dare rightly believes Nigerians should be proud. Their country finished 74th on the medals table.
The minister called Nigeria’s athletes “amazing” and said the country’s 74th-place finish in the awards table was the best in many years, 13 in fact!
According to The PUNCH, Nigeria finished 68 out of 201 countries in Sydney in 2004, with two 3rd place bronze medals. However, in Tokyo 2020, the Nigerian teams placed 74th out of 205 countries, winning two bronze and a silver medal.
While only five competitors from the Men’s 4 x 100m relay and Men’s 4 x 400m relay got to the finals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, 8 athletes from the Men’s 4 x 100m relay and Men’s 4 x 400m relay qualified for the finals in Sydney 2004.
Naming The Athletes
Blessing Oborududu earned the silver medal for Nigeria in Tokyo 2020, while Ese Brume got the bronze. Brume won her maiden Olympic award and Nigeria’s first at these games with a just shy of 7-meter long jump in the final at the Olympic Stadium.
Oborududu, an up-and-coming wrestler, won a silver medal in the women’s freestyle wrestling 68 kg division. Nigeria had not won a medal in wrestling since 1952 when the country first participated in the Olympics.
Nigeria finished 32nd at Atlanta with two gold medals, one silver and three bronze. Here’s a list of the athletes and the medals they won.
Chioma Ajunwa, women’s long jump winner, won a gold medal. Bisi Afolabi, Falilat Ogunkoya, Charity Opara, and Fatima Yusuf won silver, representing Nigeria in the women’s 4400 meters relay.
The football team claimed the gold medal, propelling them into the history books, beating the world’s favourite, Brazil. The team captain Nwankwo Kanu claimed his rightful place as a Nigerian legend.
We know Nigeria can perform but has Nigeria not performed well in the last 3 Olympic games, or are the critics unkind? Let’s look at some of Nigeria’s top moments in its sporting history and shout out these achievements.
Nigeria’s Best at Past Olympic Games
Jim Maiyegun won the country’s first Olympic medal in Tokyo, 1964. Honouring the men’s light-middleweight division, he won bronze.
After that, Nigeria had to wait another eight years until another boxer, Isaac Ikhouria, won bronze in the light heavyweight category at the Munich Games in 1972.
The 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona saw Team Nigeria redeem themselves by capturing three silver and one bronze medal. Boxing and athletics were also sources of these.
August 3, 1996, will live on in the minds of soccer-crazed Nigerians who celebrated their country’s historic first soccer gold medal win in Atlanta’s 1996 Centennial Olympic Games.
In the men’s heavyweight and super-heavyweight divisions, Richard Igbineghu and David Izonritei won silver medals, while the male and female relay teams won medals in the 4100m relay competitions.
Olapade Adeniken, Davidson Ezinwa, Chidi Imoh, and Oluyemi Kayode of the men’s quartet earned silver. At the same time, Beatrice Utondu, Christy Opara-Thompson, Mary Onyali, and Faith Idehen of the women’s four won bronze.
At the Games in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1996, Nigeria earned two gold medals, one silver medal, and three bronze medals in unprecedented performances.
On July 29, 1996, Chioma Ajunwa won a gold medal in the country’s first-ever winning women’s Long Jump event with her first jump.
Chioma Ajunwa earned a gold medal in the country’s first-ever women’s long jump event on July 29, 1996, with her first jump.
On August 3, Nigeria’s U-23 squad won a thrilling match against Argentina. Kanu Nwankwo, the team’s captain and scorer of the historic golden goal that beat Brazil in the semi-final, was one of the team’s most well-known members. Austin Okocha, Sunday Oliseh, Taribo West, Uche Okechukwu, and Daniel Amokachi were also on the team.
At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Team Nigeria had a mixed bag of results. The USA team of Alvin Harrison, Antonio Pettigrew, Calvin Harrison, and Michael Johnson won the 4x400m relay race ahead of the Nigerian team of Clement Chukwu, Jude Monye, the late Sunday Bada, and Enefiok Udo-Obong. Still, the IOC reallocated the gold medal to Nigeria on July 12, 2012, after Antonio Pettigrew admitted to using banned substances in 2008.
In their August 28, 2004 competitions, the Sydney finalists, Aaron Egbele, Deji Aliu, Uchenna Emedolu, Musa Audu, Olusoji Fasuba, James Godday, Saul Weigopwa, and Enefiok Udo-Obong earned two bronze medals.
Another male football team, captained by the late Promise Isaac and managed by Samson Siasia, won silver in Beijing in 2008 after losing to Argentina due to an Angel di Maria goal.
Nigeria has never really shone at the Olympics, but they stepped up their game this year, earning them a ‘well-done’ from the country’s minister of sport.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
On Saturday, July 18, 2026, Team Drogba Global Africa claimed its first E1 victory in Monaco, moving to sixth on the table with 59 points.
It defeated Team Brady, which came second over the week, though it leads the championship with 119 points, nine points more than the second on the log, Westbrook Racing by Visit Angola.
Kiwi Micah Wilkinson and his Spanish teammate Tara Pacheco combined to put together a memorable performance and secure a long-awaited first visit to the top step.
Drogba’s best result of the season so far had been seventh in Lake Como, but something clicked in the Principality, and the victory has moved them up to sixth overall.
Home heroes Team Monaco had set the fastest time in qualifying and were leading the way, but they made a wrong turn on the course, which consigned them to join Westbrook in the Place Race. Will Smith’s team took a damage-limiting victory, leaving them in seventh at the end of the day.
But the Finals were both dominated by Drogba. In Final 1, with Tara Pacheco at the wheel, they finished just ahead of Emma Kimiläinen’s Brady E1 RaceBird. The battle resumed in Final 2 and, on this occasion, Micah held off Sam Coleman. Timmy Hansen came through to finish third for Miami to secure their first podium in 13 races.
Micah Wilkinson was also rewarded with PIF Pilot of the Day for his performance in Final 2.
Hosted at the world-renowned Yacht Club de Monaco, the Championship’s third visit to the Principality once again transformed Port Hercule into one of the world’s most spectacular sporting venues.
E1 now heads to its first foray in Southern Africa for the E1 Luanda GP 2026, Angola, on September 12 to 13.
“Huge congratulations to everyone at Team Drogba on securing a remarkably assured maiden victory here in Monaco. We leave with a new Championship leader in Team Brady, with Will Smith’s team in close contention.
“The Principality once again delivered an extraordinary weekend of thrilling on-water action to reinforce our belief that E1 is creating a new chapter in global motorsport. We now head to Angola, Africa, for the next round as the Championship battle intensifies,” the chief executive of E1, Mr Jamie Copas, said.
By Dipo Olowookere
Spain put one past Argentina to clinch their second FIFA World Cup trophy in New Jersey, USA, on Sunday night.
Ferran Torres put the only goal of the match in the back of the South American’s net in the 106th minute after both teams could not settle scores in normal time.
The Argentines, led by Lionel Scaloni, were reduced to 10 men in added time of the second half after Enzo Fernández got his second yellow card for a tackle on Spain’s Pau Cubarsí.
Lionel Messi could not inspire his team to victory in the final watched by the President of the United States, Mr Donald Trump, as the Europeans dominated the match, with Argentina not having a shot on or off target before the extra time.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup champions only managed to show signs of pressing after the winners of the 2010 edition in South Africa scored a minute after the resumption of the second half of the extra 30 minutes.
The win by Luis de la Fuente’s men left Lionel Messi teary after the match. This could be his last World Cup as he turned 39 this year.
The next FIFA World Cup in 2030 goes to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. This year’s edition was hosted by the trio of the USA, Canada, and Mexico. The Mundial kicked off on June 20, 2026, and ended on July 19, 2026, with 48 teams participating, more than the usual 32 teams of the previous editions.
On July 23, Nigeria’s main grassroots tournament kicks off: players from the top 100 teams across five divisions of Lagos will compete for the championship title, a generous prize pool, the prestige of their home communities, and their dream of signing their first contract with a professional club.
1xCup has helped many talented players make a name for themselves. Thanks to their standout performances at the tournament, more than 30 footballers have earned spots on professional teams in Nigeria, Bulgaria, Norway, Albania, North Macedonia, and many other countries.
1xCup top success stories
From their debuts in the NPFL and second-tier European leagues to call-ups to the Nigeria national team, the stories of 1xCup graduate players could easily serve as the script for a new Hollywood sports drama. Defensive midfielder Adeoye Aderemi Jacob was named one of the top breakout stars of the 1xCup 2025. His dedication and energy helped the Naths Boys reach the tournament’s final four and caught the attention of Ikorodu City scouts. Adeoye Aderemi Jacob quickly adapted to the professional level and even earned a call-up to the Nigeria national team for friendly matches against Zimbabwe and Jamaica as part of their preparations for the.
Several 1xCup graduates have built successful careers in Europe. Martins Idowu plays in Serbia, Peter Ahisu in Bulgaria, and Okere Ebube in North Macedonia. Lawani Clinton, Bada Moses, and Raheem Ibrahim Ogede have continued their football careers with professional clubs in Nigeria. Meanwhile, Nwana Okechukwu and Kayode Akinyemi are representing their homeland in the Egyptian and Beninese leagues.
The 1xCup 2026 will continue this mission. Starting with the knockout stage, scouts from professional clubs will be in attendance at the tournament’s matches. This means that every participant will have a chance to prove themselves, get noticed by experts, and perhaps write a new chapter in their football history.
1xCup 2026 is open to everyone
Nigeria’s most prestigious grassroots tournament has helped football talent shine and demonstrated that our country is capable of organizing large-scale sports events. The list of participants in the qualification was made publicly available, and every fan can follow the match results and the standings on the official 1xCup Instagram page.
The tournament’s matches are drawing huge interest from viewers, so the organizers have expanded their media coverage. The 1xCup Podcast is set to launch very soon, featuring well-known figures from Nigeria’s football community who will discuss the main storylines and standout players of the fourth season, as well as share exclusive insights with fans.
Watch from the front row as the next generation of football stars is born, and follow the action from the grassroots tournament on the official 1xcup.ng website or on the project’s Instagram page.
